Trouble Not Yet Over For Dozie Family As Access Bank’s ‘’Acquisition” Of Diamond Bank Runs Into Major Crisis

Labule Thomas

The acquisition of Diamond Bank by Access Bank – coated as a merger – is about to run into troubled water, even before its official takeoff.

The deal which would see shareholders get two new Access Bank’s ordinary shares for every seven Diamond Bank ordinary shares held as at the implementation date is already decorated with talks of ‘’breaches in the procedure” adopted by both banks to reach this point in their negotiation.

Diamond Bank’s shareholders were misled as management denied talks of impending acquisition cum merger until the contrary announcement earlier today.

Societynow.ng gathered that Diamond Bank’s major shareholder identified as Carlyle Investment looks poised to kick against the absorption by Access Bank.

Societynow.ng gathered the investment company is very much against been left holding the short end of the deal in the arrangement.

Carlyle had offered to inject funds into Diamond Bank to avert the takeover by Access Bank.

But Bank’s main promoter and architect of the current situation of the financial institution, Pascal Dozie had rejected conditions attached to the offer.

Carlyle wants Dozie’s son Uzoma sacked as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer and the entire management team changed.

‘’This would have whittled down the influence of the Dozie family in the running of the bank” societynow.ng learned.

Insiders disclosed that the Dozie family opted to go with the takeover by Access Bank because takes care of the loan problem and relevance at a bigger bank – a better proposition than Carlyle Investment’s.

‘’There is a talk of a chair on the board of directors amongst others ‘’ a source stated.

Access Bank got the leverage to acquire Diamond bank courtesy of calling in non-performing loans secured by Dozie using his majority shares as Diamond at security.

Though Diamond and Access Banks have officially announced intentions to fuse their operations together, insiders disclosed shareholders of both bank’s need to approve the move as well as industry regulators.

‘’And that is where the trouble lay ahead of the Dozie family. The Uzoma Dozie led management team misled shareholders with strenuously denials talks of a planned acquisition and there is also the influence of angry Carlyle investment with more than enough fund to help Diamond bank stay clear off Access bank to contend with” societynow.ng learned.

Insiders disclosed backed with the influence of Carlyle Investment, shareholders who look set to lose money to save Dozie Family from debt – and help them retain influence in the banking community -appear poised work at not letting industry regulators give the go-ahead on the acquisition by Access Bank.